Friday, January 18, 2013

A snug blanket of white snow lies on the ground this time of the year and we've entered the season of reading by the fire, snoozing more than we should, chopping and stacking fire wood, doing a little snow shoeing, and playing word games. That pretty much describes our winter months here in North Central Idaho. Up river folks, as we refer to ourselves, also take more time to socialize during the winter by holding pot luck dinners with friends and taking afternoon walks up the mountain side behind Reflections Inn.

This year one our talented friends engraved a 20 lb rock with two simple words on it, “One Pancake". The idea was to place the rock along the walking trail that is located up the hill behind Reflections Inn. The engraved rock would be placed at the distance it would take a hiker to burn off the calories of one pancake. After consuming a hearty brunch, a group of us installed the rock on New Year’s Day, at a location roughly a third of the way up the trail. Ultimately we will place three "Pancake" rocks along the trail, which is a distance of a mile and a quarter one way. This should add a little more fun for our guests who walk the trail - a trail that leads to a beautiful overlook of the Clearwater River Valley.

Most everyone who is serious about the hospitality business puts their guests and service first, as we do at Reflections Inn. But Ruth and I strive to go a little deeper. We want to honor our guests as whole human beings and recognize and respect their distinct differences. By appreciating our guests’ uniqueness we have come to recognize the best that exists within each of us. This makes us happy and content - and we believe this view better serves the needs of our guest.